Patio tray leg retainer



Sept. 27, 1966 R. s. HAYDOCK PATIO TRAY LEG RETAINER Original Filed Oct. 13, 1964 w d sg l 4 7/70 Q c United States Patent 3,275,278 PATIO TRAY LEG RETAINER Raymond S. Haydock, Morton Grove, Ill., assignor of one-half to Raymond Haydoclr, .lr., and one-half to Sandra L. Haydock, both of Chicago, Ill.

Original application Oct. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 403,467. Divided and this application Oct. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 491,968

1 Claim. (Cl. 248-431) The present invention relates to an improved patio tray leg retainer and is a division of my prior application Serial No. 403,467 filed Oct. 13, 1964, on Patio Tray Assembly, now Patent No. 3,242,887, issued March 29, 1966.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved leg retainer for patio trays of the type having three legs crossing each other midway between floor and tray top for an assembly which has a minimum number of parts, which has a simple and inexpensive structure, which is firm and stable, and the legs of which are removable as a unit, so that the legs may be moved to a parallel position and stored conveniently.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved leg retainer, adapted to permit movement of the legs to parallel position for storage, or to a diagonal position to fit in the leg sockets of the tray top, where they are firmly held in tray top supporting position, without necessity for added rivets, or other parts to hold the legs in a unitary assembly.

Another object is the provision of an improved leg retainer of triangular shape with rounded corners for holding the three legs together at their intersection and having three integral plastic pins extending inward from the midpoint of each side of the triangle in which the leg retainer may be deformed, as shown in FIG. 5, to get the pins in the holes in the tubular legs, after which the leg retainer springs back to the position of FIG. 4, securely holding the legs when the tray top is supported on them, but permitting the legs to be pulled out of their clip sockets and folded into parallel position for storage or shipment.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the single sheet of drawings accompanying this specification.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the leg retainer;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of same;

FIG. 3 is a perspective View of the leg retainer;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken through the legs above the leg retainer;

FIG. 5 is a view taken at the same point, showing the distortion of the leg retainer to insert the integral pins in the holes in the legs, and showing in dotted lines, the usual shape of the leg retainer;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view on a horizontal plane above the leg retainer and showing fragments of the legs crossing each other at the leg retainer.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, 64 indicates the plastic molded leg retainer which is shown in plan in FIG. 1, elevation in FIG. 2, and perspective in FIG. 3. The leg retainer 64 has three flat sides 66, 68, 70, joined at the curved corners, 72, 74, 76, forming a triangle in plan, with rounded corners, and each side 66, 68, 70, has an inwardly extending integral pin 78, rounded at its end 80, and fitting in a punched hole 82, in the adjacent side of each leg 82, 84, 86. Referring to FIG. 5, the leg "ice retainer 64, is made of resilient plastic, so that it may be deformed by pressure as shown in FIG. 5, until the pins 78, are retracted sufficiently to be inserted in the holes 82, in the legs, the retainer thereafter resuming its triangular shape and retaining the legs on the pins 78.

The operation of the assembly is as follows: when the legs are joined at their central portion by the retainer 64, the upper ends of the legs may be inserted in the socket members, and the legs extending diagonally, are located to engage the floor and support the tray top horizontally. The legs engage the lower edge, and the upper edge of the retainer, and the retainer resists spreading of the legs while the caps at the lower ends of the legs engage the floor. When desired, the legs may be withdrawn from their socket members and moved into parallel position for storage.

It will thus be observed that the leg retainers are more simple than the arrangements of the prior art, which required separate rivets, involving an additional riveting operation. The present leg retainers may be deformed as shown in FIG. 5, to get the integral pins in the holes in the legs, after which the leg retainer springs back to the shape of FIG. 4, or dotted lines of FIG. 5.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claim.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

A plastic leg retainer, of resilient deformable material, said retainer being substantially triangular in plan, with rounded corners, inside and outside, said retainer being relatively thin in vertical cross section, and relatively wide, vertically, and each of its three sides, having on the inside, an inwardly projecting integral plastic pin, located midway between the top and bottom of each side, and midway between the ends of each side, each pin being surrounded at its juncture with the side, by a tapered portion, said leg retainer being for patio tray assemblies of the type having a tray top with sockets for receiving the upper ends of the legs, which cross each other midway between the floor and the tray top, in which the legs are secured together by a leg retainer of plastic of the shape and characteristics described above, each of the integral pins engaging in a hole in each leg, the band confining the legs, and supporting the tray top firmly when the legs are spread, and the legs being removable as a unit, and movable into parallel position for storage or shipment, and the plastic leg retainer being deformable to insert the pins in the holes in the legs, after which the leg retainer springs back into triangular form.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 64,694 5/1867 Olds 1081l8 2,352,090 6/1944 Faller 108-118 X 2,710,733 6/1955 Phillips 248431 2,749,147 6/ 1956 Herrschaft 248431 2,859,080 11/1958 Botnick 108118 3,215,097 11/1965 Bedol 108159 FOREIGN PATENTS 593,520 5/1959 Italy.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

J. T. MCCALL, Assistant Examiner. 

